Time of the Dragon
by EgyptianShadowWolf
Summary: Yugi is part of a dragon army called the Syoku Ryu as a dragon rider. But what happens when a new dragon rider joins the army and upsets the other armies? Will Yugi be strong enough to help defend domino city? YXYY Pairings. Better summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey peeps, sorry I've been so long. Loads of things have occurred since I last put anything up. Well, this story is slightly random I know, coming from a wolf and all ;) ( and Gaara'sLittleAngel94Xx will know what I mean!) I got inspired by watching Eragon for the hundredth time and it gives you a little break from Raising Wolf.**

**O.K, the situation here: Dragon Riders have been back for a looooooong time and there are two types of rare dragons that virtually no one owns. They are the Light dragons and the Dark dragons. Yugi has been a dragon Rider for quite a long while and is joined with a Light dragon called Sukai. Yugi is part of the dragon army known as the Syoku Ryu, where dragon riders and their dragons protect the city of Domino against evil forces and other dragons that are not on their side. But what happens when a mysterious new dragon rider with a mighty dark dragon called Ramses joins the Syoku Ryu and upsets the balance of peace between other armies of dragon Riders of other cities????**

**There are OC's in here with odd names, just to warn you.**

**If you want to be part of the Syoku Ryu as an OC, send me a private mail with a Japanese name for yourself and a name for your dragon. You also have to mention the type of dragon that you want. The types you can choose out of are: Fire, Water, Earth, Ice, Wind and Spirit.**

**Hope you enjoy it!**

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

Yugi rushed through the air at high speed on his dragon. Yugi was in his training hours with Sukai, where he and Sukai would fight targets and practise their aims, as if they were fighting an opponent on another dragon. Sukai rushed toward a large red target and swerved just as they were about to hit it, so Yugi could slice it in half with the sword he was carrying.

Once he had destroyed the target, he and Sukai landed. Yugi peered at the previous targets that he had demolished.

"It's not enough..." Yugi murmered. Sukai paused.

'_I thought we did quite well'_ Sukai said to Yugi.

"Well, we did. It was just slower than yesterday, and we need to get faster" Yugi said, deep in thought.

"You should stop pushing yourself and your dragon so hard" an old deep voice said from a distance. Yugi and Sukai looked suddenly to their far right to see a man in a white cloak, brandishing a sword with Japanese symbols on one side of the blade, walking toward them. It was the leader of the Syoku Ryu. No one knew his name, he was just known as 'The Mage'.

Everyone respected him. Even people from outside the Syoku Ryu. He had been alive when the dragon riders begun again, all those years ago. Nobody knew much about him, as he preferred to keep himself, to himself.

"I just don't want to be the weakling of the army, you know, the one that never gets called on to help protect the city" Yugi replied. The Mage approached Yugi and put a comforting hand on Yugi's shoulder.

"You and your dragon will progress when you're ready to progress, not because you don't think anyone will call upon you if you don't" The Mage replied. Yugi sighed. The Mage didn't see it his way.

'_Come on Sukai. Let's go'_ Yugi thought sadly to his dragon as he walked off slowly out of the training ring.

It had happened before. There had been a disagreement between the Syoku Ryu and another dragon army of another city. The more experienced and better riders had to fight the opposing army and only a few riders were selected to help them. Yugi hadn't been picked because he and Sukai weren't strong enough. Yugi remembered how disappointed he had been.

He wanted to know what the thrill was like to fight other dragon riders. The only thing he had fought so far is the targets in the training area. But they were no longer enough.

Sukai felt his bitterness.

'_Yugi, The Mage is right. We may not be ready to go in a fight yet. All we can do is train. We'll be picked one day. When we're ready'_

Yugi half smiled. Sukai knew how to ease the pain. She had felt it too.

Suddenly, there was a shadow that was cast over them for a few seconds, before two Ice dragons landed in front of them. They belonged to two girl dragon riders called Ookami and Hyou. They were bristled with excitement.

"Yugi!" Hyou called out.

"Come on, let's go!" Ookami said before urging her dragon to take off again. Both girls took off before Yugi could say anything, so he climbed aboard Sukai and took off as well. He soon caught up with the two girls.

"Hey, what's going on?" Yugi asked.

"The Elders have called us in. Something bad has happened I know it!" Ookami called back, slightly ahead of Yugi, her white dragon roaring to other dragons on the ground. Ookami's dragon was called Sora while Hyou's dragon was called Bast.

"So if it's something bad, why are you excited?" Yugi asked.

"Nothing much ever happens around here any more. We need more excitement!" Hyou replied.

The trio weaved in and out of streets in Domino city before reaching the headquarters for the Syoku Ryu. The dragons would fly around and wait for their riders to come back out the building. They walked through a large hallway and entered a room with loads of seats climbing up near the ceiling, a bit like a university. When all the dragon riders were seated and all was quiet, The Mage appeared at the bottom of all the seats.

"Today is a fine day for the Syoku Ryu. Every so often, we get a new dragon rider joining our ranks. And today is one of those days. May you please welcome into the Syoku Ryu, our newest rider, Yami, with his dark dragon, Ramses!" The Mage announced. There was a huge applause as Yami and his dragon entered. But Yugi gasped.

This new dragon rider looked just like him. And he had a rare dragon, just like Yugi did...

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember to review and send me a private message if you would like to be part of the Syoku Ryu. xXx**


	2. Chapter 2

**O.K, here's chapter 2. Thanks to everyone for their reviews. If you know anyone that is really into dragons or something and would like to be part of the Syoku Ryu, then please let them know. Thanks! I need all the dragon riders possible. Thanks to Sakura and Kibou, you two will be mentioned in this chapter **** Remember to contact me if you would like to be part of the Syoku Ryu. O.K, later peeps! Don't forget to review!**

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

Yugi made his way out of the headquarters and called to his dragon. Sukai landed next to Yugi and waited while Yugi climbed aboard. They then took off in pursuit of Ookami and Hyou, who had taken off a while ago.

When Sukai caught up with Sora and Bast, Yugi began to talk to Ookami and Hyou.

"So fancy that? A new dragon rider?" Ookami said excitedly. Hyou nodded.

"I wonder how good he'll be on a dragon?" Hyou added.

"I wonder if he's hot?" Ookami said, which made both girls giggle.

"He's got a dark dragon" Yugi stated, in his own world.

"Yeah? We know that. Quite odd I know..." Ookami said, steering Sora around a building flying the other side of Yugi, so he was in the middle.

"Well, won't that make other armies jealous?" Yugi inquired.

"Well, do you think that any army with any sense would take on the Syoku Ryu? I mean, we're one of the strongest armies that you can get!" Hyou answered.

"Anyway, what you doing now?" Ookami asked Yugi.

"Oh, I've got class now..." Yugi said, not really wanting to go. Hyou looked at him sympathetically.

"Rather you than me!" She said, before making Bast turn to her left and quickly out of sight.

"You know what she's like. I'd better go with her. See ya later Yugi!" Ookami called before steering Sora in the direction Hyou went. Yugi sighed.

It was alright for them. They were a couple of years older than him, so they had done all their dragon classes. They were two of the most experienced dragon riders in the army. It may also have helped that their grand-father (they were sisters) was the best dragon rider in history. The Mage.

Yugi sighed. He believed he would never be strong enough to one day help them in battle, or to help patrol the streets of Domino City.

'You will one day Yugi. I can almost guarantee it' Sukai said to Yugi, before landing outside a large academy looking place. (To make this easier, imagine Duel Academy in GX, only where the Duel arenas are, imagine giant training rings for dragons ;)

Yugi and Sukai walked down the corridors to the main training ring, where the seats were like that of the Head quarters that they had just been to. Yugi sat down in a seat that he spotted was empty and waited for class to begin.

Suddenly, there was a blaze of fire coming from one of the corridors and a large red dragon flew through the open doors. Yugi watched as the dragon circled the arena and then flew over near to where Yugi was sitting and watched as his rider jumped from his back to the row of seats next to Yugi.

At first, Yugi hadn't recognised the rider or dragon but then identified them as Sakura, and her fire dragon Yumi. Sakura was a decent dragon rider herself, training her dragon whenever she had a spare moment. It was paying off.

Sakura bounded over to Yugi.

"Hi Yugi!" she said, before sitting in the chair next to him. Yugi nodded half in his own world again.

"Hey! What's wrong? You're usually all smiles and 'Oh, how are you?' and stuff." Sakura asked, her expression worried. Yugi looked at her.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking...You know that new dragon rider..." Yugi began.

"The one with the dark dragon? Yeah, he's supposed to be really good you know. It's said that all dark dragons are" Sakura said.

"What about Light dragon riders? Are we strong?" Yugi inquired.

"Oh yeah! The strongest. But it is also said that light and dark riders have to go against one another, so you better watch your back!" Sakura warned as The Mage walked in.

The room quietened down as The Mage made his way to the middle of the room.

"As you know, we have a new dragon rider, so I am going to allocate someone to help him with his first few weeks of being here." The Mage announced, looking around the room. The new dragon rider himself then came through the doors, with his dark dragon in tow.

Yugi sank in his seat.

'Don't pick me, PLEASE don't pick me!" Yugi thought to himself.

'Why not?' Sukai asked.

'Because he's a dark dragon rider'

'That's not really an excuse. You're judging him by his dragon!' Sukai answered him.

"Yugi! Yugi, could you please put your hand up so Yami knows who you are" The Mage declared.

Yugi shyly put his hand as everyone turned to him. Yugi went a deep red.

'Yami, so that's his name?' Yugi thought to himself as the new rider made his way to where Yugi was sitting.

Once sat down, The Mage began the lesson. Today was dragon Training, which Sakura was chuffed with. Yami began whispering to Yugi.

"Hi, as you know, I'm Yami and you must be Yugi. You see my dark dragon? His name is Ramses" Yami whispered. Yugi nodded.

Yugi turned around to the platform at the back, where everyone's dragons usually stood or laid.

"The Light dragon in the middle is mine. Her name is Sukai" Yugi whispered back.

"A light dragon eh? We should be against each other shouldn't we?" Yami said, a smirk on his face. Yugi got slightly nervous.

The lesson was over pretty quick and as everyone picked up their stuff and left, Yami stopped halfway down the row they were walking down. He was looking at the platform that some of the dragons still were, only there was a girl on her own, with a light purple dragon by her side. She had a stern look on her face as she looked down on everyone.

"Who's that?" Yami asked

Yugi looked up.

"That's Kibou. She is a very experienced rider, as she has a spirit dragon, as they're hard to train." Yugi answered.

"Does she have to look so...moody?" Yami asked.

"Sssshhhhh!" Sakura shushed Yami.

"Don't ever let her hear you say that!" Sakura warned.

"Why?" asked a very confused Yami.

The trio were now walking along the corridor from which they first entered.

"Well, you see, there was a conflict, quite a while ago between us, and another army, the Ankoku Ryu. Back then, Kibou had a partner, but he was killed by someone in the Ankoku Ryu. Someone with a dark dragon. Since then, she has had a personal hate for anyone with dark dragons and she always looks stern because she's still in mourning and finds it hard to open up to anyone." Yugi explained.

Yami was about to inquire more, when Ookami and Hyou came running down the corridor.

"Where's the Mage?" they asked Yugi. Yugi looked behind him.

"Still in class I think" Yugi answered. The girls thanked him and carried on running.

"Why? What's going on?" Yugi called after them.

"The Syoku Ryu is in great danger!" they called back...


	3. Chapter 3

**So, as you all requested, here is chapter 3. There is a small glitch with this story. NOT ENOUGH OF YOU ARE JOINING!!!!!! I NEED MORE DRAGON RIDERS!!!!! AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! *Gaara'sLittleAngel94Xx and grab hold of EgyptianShadowWolf***

**GLA94: SHUT UP!!!!! CALM DOWN!!!!!!**

**A.T: No, no, let me handle this. You must tell her with calmness in your voice. GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!**

**ESW: ¬¬**

**O.K, I'm fine now. Right, what I need is two people to be the head of the Water department, Earth, Wind and 1 more person to be head of Spirit. In the Syoku Ryu, the dragon riders are organised into departments depending on what your dragon is. Ookami and Hyou are head of Ice, Sakura and Rayne are head of Fire and Kibou is head of Spirit, but I need one more for spirit. O.K, let me know if you are interested. Don't forget to review!**

**EgyptianShadowWolf/Shadow-chan xXx**

Yugi stared out of his bedroom window in utter boredom and despair. It was midnight now but he couldn't sleep. There was no way he was going to get to sleep tonight. He was worried.

Ookami and Hyou had refused to tell him, Yami or Sakura what was going on. After the girls saw The Mage, he refused to tell anyone either what was going on.

The words 'Syoku Ryu' and 'Danger' where whirling around and around his head. Yugi put his forehead against the cold window and watched as his breath misted up part of the window. Every so often, Sukai would fly past the window. When Yugi couldn't sleep, neither could she.

Yami. That was another thing. He secretly feared Yami. He had seemed O.K when he was talking to Yami but, still, he had a dark dragon. People with dark dragons were said to be notorious killers. But Yami didn't really look the killing type...

Yugi's head began to hurt so he stopped thinking about it. he didn't know what to think about him. He decided that in the morning he would go and see Rayne, the second head of fire department apart from Sakura. She would help. He was sure of it.

'_I don't think Yami's all that bad'_ Sukai said, as she flew over the top of the house.

Yugi climbed into his bed. _'Many people don't to start with. Any way it's early days. He could still turn nasty'_ Yugi said to Sukai.

He heard Sukai land in the back garden.

'_Only time will tell' _Sukai said.

'_Yeah'_ Yugi agreed_. 'Only time will tell'_

* * *

Sukai and Yugi flew through the cold morning air. Class started in a couple of hours, but Yugi knew Rayne well. She liked to talk.

Sukai flew over the sign that read 'Fire region' and into the Fire department. Fire dragons and their riders were everywhere. This was unfamiliar territory to them, as they sent most their time in the Ice department with Ookami and Hyou.

Sukai landed in the middle of a spare training ring, so Yugi could find who he was looking for.

After a while, Yugi spotted a red dragon, slightly larger than the rest. The head's dragon's were always slightly larger, as they were more experienced and better fighters.

Sukai took off once more and followed the red dragon. To Yugi's relief, it was Rayne that was on board, so that meant that the dragon was Pyre, a relatively friendly dragon. Some dragons could be a bit suspicious of other element dragons.

Rayne spotted Yugi and waved. Yugi signalled for them both to land, before swooping toward the ground.

Once he and Rayne had landed, they both got off their dragons and walked toward each other.

"So Yugi, what's on your mind?" Rayne asked as Yugi reached her.

"How did you know something was wrong?" Yugi asked.

Rayne smiled.

"No offence here, but you always have something on your mind Yugi. What's it this time? Or shall I say who?" Rayne's smile faded as she looked to her left.

"Have you fallen out with Sakura again?" Yugi mused.

"No. But everyone seems to be suspicious of this Yami kid. He seems to have upset other armies. They don't really allow dark dragon riders to enter armies. I don't know what the Mage is thinking, letting Yami and Ramses in."

"Wow, so you have your suspicions about Yami as well?" Yugi asked.

"Not as such" Rayne simply replied.

"I've always thought dark dragon riders where, well, killers" Yugi whispered the last part.

Rayne smiled and laughed.

"Want a top tip? One that will avoid messy situations? Never judge a rider by his dragon. No, it's the dragon I have suspicions about." Rayne said, stroking Pyre's head, who in return growled slightly.

"The dragon?" Yugi said surprised.

"Yeah. Dark dragons are supposedly back stabbers and betrayers. Of course, I could be wrong, but you never know..." Rayne trailed off. Suddenly Sakura and Yumi flew round the corner, taking Yugi and Rayne by surprise.

"Well, I'd best be off now. We have to do our teaching and stuff. Not the most exciting thing, I must admit" Rayne pulled a face while she mounted Pyre and took off. Yugi watched as she and Sakura flew off.

He mounted Sukai and they too took off but flew in the opposite direction. As he and Sukai flew, he thought about the conversation he just had. He flew over and was nearing the Ice department.

"LOOK OUT!" a voice suddenly called. Yugi looked up to see Kibou, Ookami and Hyou flying toward him.

It all happened fast. Faster than Yugi could react.

Yugi turned to his right and saw a blur of green as an earth dragon hit Sukai at full pelt. Sukai, left weakened by the attack, plummeted toward the floor, with Yugi hanging on. The earth dragon just continued on its fast journey out of sight.

Before Yugi knew what was going on, he and Sukai had hit the floor. Yugi felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. His vision blurred and he couldn't move his limbs. Above him, he could see two white dragons and a light purple dragon. But they were fading fast, before...

...darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry I haven't updated for a very long time now, I just haven't got round to it, or have had no inspiration what so ever. O.K, so, in the last chapter, Yugi got knocked unconscious by an unknown dragon. I know what my mates are thinking. Those are some big words for me. Lol. I'm just starting up a deviantart account, and some things relating to my stories will be on there. Eventually. I know some of you have requested longer chapters, and I will try my best but my laptop has a different idea about having long chapters, and seems to think that spreading the chapter along 4 pages will be long enough. Unfortunately, it's not. O.K, I'm blabbing now. I'll stop before I bore you. :)**

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

Yugi slowly opened his eyes, breaking from the darkness that surrounded him.

At first, all he could see was white, but his eyes then focused at his surroundings. He then realised he was staring at a white ceiling, and that he was in a white bed.

Yugi pushed his top half off the bed with his arms, but pain shot through his body, making him cry out, and fall back against the bed.

"Hey, take it easy" a voice said, a hand resting on his shoulder. Yugi looked to his left.

It was Kibou.

He looked ahead of him to see Hyou and Ookami glancing anxiously at him.

Yugi sighed, but his rib cage hurt.

"Where am I?" Yugi murmured, his hand going to his head, a sudden headache on the horizon.

"You're in the hospital. You took a bad fall. Can't you remember?" Ookami asked, getting more panicked.

"Ookami, calm down. Try to remember Yugi" Kibou said softly, turning to Yugi, her hand still on his shoulder.

Yugi thought back, before the darkness. He remembered talking to Rayne and then leaving the Fire department. He tried to remember more, but his head hurt too much. Yugi clenched his teeth in response.

"Hey, it's O.K. You need rest. You gave us quite a scare back there." Kibou half smiled and straightened up, taking her hand off Yugi's shoulder.

Yugi glanced round more. He then noticed he was strapped to a couple of large machines, measuring his heart rate (and whatever else those scary large machines do. I'm not a nurse, I wouldn't know ).

Yugi was in his own world when he heard a dragon roar in the distance. It may have been a spirit dragon. It sounded like one. Then he remembered. He remembered everything. Flying toward Kibou, Hyou and Ookami, and an earth dragon suddenly hitting him and Sukai. Wait.

"SUKAI!" Yugi suddenly shouting, sitting bolt upright, but regretting it as pain ripped through his entire body. Yugi once again collapsed against his pillows with a weak cry. He had to stop doing that.

"Yugi! Lay still! Sukai's fine. Shaken up, but fine." Hyou, who spoke for the first time, reassured him.

"I want to see her" Yugi mumbled.

"Yugi, dragons can't come into the hospital, you know that" Hyou said.

"Anyway, you're forgetting, you can communicate with her. Through your mind." Ookami pointed out.

Yugi then tried to speak to Sukai. As soon as he did, however, his head throbbed badly, causing him to stop. As soon as he did stop, it went away. He tried again. The same result. Yugi started to panic. Why couldn't he contact her?

His face must have gave something away, because when he looked properly at the girls, they all had looks of concern on them.

"Well?" Hyou prompted.

"I-I can't contact her" Yugi was panicking majorly, and he felt he wanted to cry. This was too much.

"I'll go get Sora and see if we can find her. Don't worry Yugi, I'm sure there's a perfect explanation for this." Ookami said, heading for the door. Just before she went through it, The Mage appeared at the door, out of thin air. Ookami backed off slightly, giving her grandfather some room to pass, before running out the door.

The mage walked swiftly to the bed in which Yugi was laying. Kibou and Hyou both looked at each other before making their excuses and leaving. There was then a silence between the two. Yugi couldn't think of anything to say to the Mage. What was there to say?

Yugi figured, that by the look on the Mage's face, that he was disappointed. Yugi was a failure. He wasn't a good dragon rider, and that he shouldn't have been knocked out the air like that. That he should have seen the earth dragon headed his way. This made Yugi feel depressed.

"We've found the dragon who knocked you out the sky. It had no rider with it, so we suspect that it's a spy dragon from _that_ army" The Mage said, looking at the machines.

Yugi lifted his head a little.

"What do you mean _'that'_ army? What are you talking about?" Yugi asked, slightly confused (Ha ha, I bet you all are!).

The Mage sighed.

"Ever since your friend joined..." He started.

"He's not my friend" Yugi mumbled, folding his arms.

The Mage paused for a second before continuing.

"Well, since he joined, the other armies have been getting edgy. You know the rumours about dark dragons and their riders. They're not happy. They want him out. But I stand by him, as I believe he's not a bad rider. You just need to know him more"

Yugi still had his doubts.

"Anyway, I believe Ookami and Hyou told you, the Syoku Ryu is in danger. The armies have turned against us. All of them I believe. It's lucky we are the strongest army, but we may not be able to hold all of them off."

Yugi's eyes widened.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Yugi asked quietly.

"Because we need you Yugi. You won't believe the amount of people effected when they'd heard you had been knocked unconscious. I had to see for myself if you were O.K." The Mage said softly.

Yugi looked at the duvet covering him.

"You need to train hard. Harder than you ever have done, to help us have a fighting chance in this war. The two head dragon riders will train you and Sukai to the best of their abilities, to help you against all elements. Ookami, Hyou, Kibou, Rayne, Sakura, Tatsuya, Roka and the rest."

Tatsuya and Roka were the two heads of water department, with their dragons, Aoi and Knox.

The Mage then got up and moved out the door, as swiftly as ever.

Yugi walked out of the two clear doors, as healthy as ever. He had healed well and was ready for training. He saw Sukai and ran to her, climbing on her back, before taking off.

He flew high above the training centre, all dragon riders and dragons watching him. He was then joined by the leaders of each department, and as they flew above all the training centre, a loud cheer from all the dragon riders rose up, celebrating.

From a dark crevice, a pitch black dragon watched Yugi and the others flying, through slightly squinted yellow eyes. Ramses let a deep growl rumble in his throat before breathing a flame of fire and taking off in the opposite direction...


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, thanks for the response for the last chapter, but of course, dragon riders are still welcome ****. Just a notice, to the author that wanted to be Regaldon, you never told me the name of your dragon. Just PM me ****. O.K, so Yugi's now in training for the eerrr...can't give too much away. HA! You thought you'd won didn't you Gaara'sLittleAngel94Xx, by me telling you the plot. Soz, as I told you before, you can't get it out of me. Better luck next time :p. **

**I'm still looking for two OC's to be the heads of Earth. Why doesn't anybody like this element? Wolves have this element. *sniff***

**Now, onto the story...**

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

Yugi looked down at his rota for today.

"Training, training, training, rest, training, training and...training" Yugi finalised to Sukai.

Sukai lifted what seemably should have been her eyebrow (dragons I would assume, have no eyebrows. I don't think).

"Not a lot then" Yugi said sarcastically.

'_We'll get through it. You complained before that we weren't getting enough. Now you're saying it's too much.'_ Sukai seemed to laugh at this.

"Hmm" was all Yugi could say.

He and Sukai took off and headed toward the first training arena of the day. Each department had a way of battling.

Fire used head on attacks, Ice used more Element attacks, Earth used surprise attacks, Spirit used spiritual attacks, Water used quick attacks and wind used air attacks, attacking from directly above. Yugi had to learn all of them.

It was daunting come to think of it. But, as Sukai said, they would get through it. It was alright for the heads. They had done all their training and qualified, and they were the best of their kind, which made them the head, obviously.

The Mage though, was a completely different story. It was said that the Mage was so powerful, that even if all the Heads of each department teamed up and attacked him, he would take them down. And not even break into a sweat. Of course, Yugi had never seen him fight. He had never even seen his dragon.

Rumours had it that his dragon was dead. Others said it was hidden within the elements, waiting for when the Mage was in great danger, then save him. One ridiculous rumour even said that the Mage had had a battle in the past with an evil sorcerer. He defeated the sorcerer, but he had put a curse on The Mages dragon and that if it showed its face to the world again, the world would end, so the dragon had to go into hiding.

Yugi didn't really believe any of these. There had to be an appropriate explanation.

Yugi focused again as Sukai landed. But it took him a few seconds to realise that they were not at their suppose destination.

"Eeerrr...Sukai, we're supposed to be at the Wind element training ring" Yugi said.

'_I know, but I heard something down here'_ Sukai said back, looking into a group of trees she had landed by.

Yugi dismounted and stared deeply into the trees. He could just make out a shape. It was the shape of a graceful dragon, as black as the night. It suddenly moved coming toward him.

Yugi backed up a few paces, keeping his distance. Yugi had been right about the dragon. A large black dragon suddenly came into full view, with Yami on the back.

Sukai growled slightly behind Yugi. Ramses growled back in reply. Yugi realised this was the first time that Ramses and Sukai had met, so light vs. Dark was running through their minds right now. Yugi stood more in front of Sukai.

Yami dismounted Ramses.

"I heard you were in a spot of bother with an earth dragon. You O.K?" Yami asked. Innocent enough.

"Yeah. Seems so" was all Yugi replied. He still didn't know what to think of Yami. Yami nodded.

"Where you headed now?"

"To the Wind element training ring"

"What for? I thought Sukai was a Light dragon"

"She is. I'm training at all arena for the...for something" Yugi had to correct himself. He didn't want to let slip that Yami was the reason for a feud that had developed amongst the armies.

Yami smiled at Yugi.

"Best be on your way then"

"Yeah" Yugi quickly climbed back on Sukai, Sukai still staring at Ramses and they took off, faster than they usually did. Yugi quickly looked behind him to see Yami and Ramses still looking at them.

Sukai flew faster until they reached the training ring. Sukai was a little out of breath when she landed which had Shion and Hikaru questioning. Yugi then had no time to concentrate on what happened as Shion and Hikaru put him straight to work, demonstrating fighting techniques with each other, and how to deal the most damage.

Yugi couldn't quite grasp it at first but found that with, practice, he was getting better. Before long, his training had finished. Yugi looked back at his rota. Ice was next. It was lucky, as he needed to talk to them. He flew over to the Ice area and saw them circling the arena.

Once he was near enough, he was quick on the ball. He wanted to know more about this 'war' that was coming up.

Ookami and Hyou smiled as he neared.

"Hey Yugi, how you doin'?" Ookami asked, circling round Sukai.

"Yeah, fine. There's a few things I wanna know" Yugi said quickly.

Ookami and Hyou looked at each other.

"We best land" Hyou advised.

Once they had landed, Yugi was quick with the questions again.

"Is it true that all the armies are against us?" Yugi asked.

Ookami and Hyou looked at each other again.

"Well, not all of them"

"Who's with us then?"

"So far, only one army is with us. That's the Kodai Ryu. They don't like the fact that other armies have reacted in this way."

Yugi looked down.

"We don't stand a chance" He mumbled to himself.

"Hey, don't say that! We always have a shot" Ookami and Hyou reassured him.

Suddenly, Sora, Bast and Sukai all growled looking in the same direction. The three of them loked around.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked.

'_He's here. He's here...'_ was all Sukai could manage.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ta da!!!! I'm back!!!!! *Ignores the groans from and Gaara'sLittleAngel94Xx* I'm soz I haven't updated for a loooooooooooooooooong time. I'll try to make this one long, but there is only so much I can put into each chapter and blah de blah de blah...... Ha ha ha, GLA94Xx still hasn't got the plot out of me....And you never will Mwa ha ha!! Lol, I dunno..... Check out my Deviantart to see my latest art. I've found most of the heads, I'm just finalising the two Earth Heads...... Any who, If you're still interested in becoming part of the Syoku Ryu, then just PM me. I'll be putting the list of who's in on my profile soon, so keep an eye out. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think.**

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

All of the dragons were on edge.

Suddenly, they all took off and out of sight over some trees that were nearby.

Yugi shot a desperate glance at Ookami and Hyou. They had exactly the same look on their faces.

"Sora doesn't usually react in that way.....It must be something bad...." Ookami said, her voice drifting.

Hyou could only manage a nod.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Kibou appeared, flying on Iris. She swooped down and hovered above the ground.

"I've just seen Sora, Sukai and Bast fly over there. What's going on? What's happened???" Kibou asked, her face full of confusion.

"We don't know!" Yugi explained.

"They just flew off, no warning!"

Kibou looked out to where the three dragons had disappeared.

"Climb aboard" She instructed.

"I'll get you to your dragons"

Yugi and the two girls climbed up Iris's tail and sat behind Kibou (When you spend most your time with dragons, I would imagine you would be able to learn how to climb their tails. Somehow).

Iris was bigger than Sukai, as Sukai was younger, and Yugi had a slightly hard time adjusting.

Iris soon covered the area that separated them from their dragons. Iris perched on a large rock that overlooked a meadow, on which all four could see the three dragons, snarling at a group of trees nearby. Ookami, Hyou and Yugi jumped down Iris and ran down the slope toward their dragons. When Yugi reached Sukai, he had questions/

"Sukai! Sukai What's wrong??? Please tell me!!!" Yugi pleaded.

Sukai turned to him and snarled. Yugi jumped back, surprised.

'_STAY BACK' _she seemed to shout at him.

'_STAY AWAY!'_

"S-Sukai?" Yugi stammered, still surprised and somewhat hurt. Sukai had never turned on him like this.

She turned away. To Kibou's dismay Iris flew down and landed next to Bast, and started growling aswell.

The three girls and Yugi watched as the trees began to shake and out emerged a dragon, as dark as a shadow....

Ramses!!!!

But where was Yami?

Yugi looked for him behind the four dragons but couldn't spot him. Ramses slinked back slightly and growled back at the four dragons that faced him.

That's when it happened.

As quick as a wink, Ramses lunged, aimed straight at Bast. The two dragons clashed and they fought furiously, claws exposed, teeth bared at each other. Sora, Sukai and Iris then lunged at Ramses in bid to protect Bast. Ramses turned to the three dragons that were headed toward him and lunged back at them.

Ramses bit down hard on Sukai's neck and she gave a shriek. He threw her across the meadow space and turned suddenly turned round, raking his claws in Sora's face. Bast had manage to recover and was now attempting to attack Ramses again, while he was occupied with attacking Iris.

Meanwhile, Yugi and the girls had been trying to stop what was unfolding, but to no avail. When Sukai had been thrown across the meadow, it had finally dawned on them at how powerful and how serious this fight was. They would have to alert The Mage, but there was no way of getting to the Mage, without flying, but of course, their dragons were fighting...

Suddenly, Rayne and Sakura flew past, with Pyre and Yumi. They landed on the ridge that circled the meadow, before dismounting their dragons, their faces full of horror. Yugi saw them and tried to run over.

"Call the Mage!" He shouted

"Call the mage and get help!"

Rayne and Sakura seemed to understand and where about to mount Pyre and Yumi, when they too started to growl, and flew down to the fight on the meadow, and where soon lost in the flurry. Sakura and Rayne looked at each other in dismay. They were powerless. As where Ookami, Hyou, Kibou and Yugi.

What was Yami planning?

Did Yami set Ramses up to this?

What would this achieve, other than pain for the dragons?????

Yugi's head swam with questions.

And truth be told, he was scared.

Sukai never acted like this. Not ever.

Over the course of the next half hour, more and more dragons got involved as more and more people flew over to see what was happening. It was terrible.

Quite a few dragons had already been terribly hurt, some maybe even permantly.

Tatsuya, Roka, Shion, Hikaru, Riku, Regaldon, Siberia Mueko all looked on helplessly as their dragons battled it out with each other. All of this caused by that dark dragon. Yugi knew it was only time before the mage knew. It was out of their hands now.

And, as if by magic, there was a loud roar that shattered the skies. Everything went silent.

The dragons stopped fighting and the people stopped shouting. In the distance came the sound of heavy beating wings.

The sky went dark and above everyone's heads, the Mage and his mighty dragon swooped down. No one had ever seen his dragon. It was array of power and magic. It was totally white, just like and Ice dragon, but along its tail and across its wings were bight green Japanese symbols, just like the Mage's sword.

It swooped down and landed in the middle of the battle field, letting out another ear splitting cry.

Bloodied dragons took a long look at the mighty dragon before them. And then, one by one, they all bowed before the dragon. It was the mightiest of dragons and it demanded respect. It was also the biggest. The only dragon that did not bow was Ramses.

The large white dragon looked deep into Ramses eyes, with its piercing green ones.

With a shake of his head, Ramses growled and took off into the red sky and into the distance.

The mage and his dragon stayed a few seconds more, looking where Ramses had disappeared to and then himself, took off.

All then returned to normal. Well, I say normal....

It was as if the magnificent dragon had not just been in the field.

Dragons returned to their riders and slowly left the meadow. Yugi ran to Sukai.

"SUKAI!! ARE YOU O.K?????" Yugi shouted, running to his dragon.

'_I'm so sorry Yugi.....'_

'_That's O.K'_ Yugi thought to his dragon.

'_As long as you're O.K....'_

But before Yugi could get the message across, Sukai let out a large cry and collapsed on her side, and Yugi felt a sharp pain in his stomach.....

Sukai had fought with all her might, maybe even to the death.....


	7. Chapter 7

Wow, thanks for the reaction to the last chapter, it's been great!! ;) Aaaaahhhh, my adoring public.... (only kidding, lol!!!!) A-Truesdale guessed what was coming next in the story at school and I was like 'DAMN!!!! Have to think of a new idea.....' and sorry, Gaara'sLittleAngel94Xx, you guessed wrong. Remember, all dragon Riders are welcome!!! Soon, the new list of dragon riders will be up on my profile, so keep your eye on it.... If you haven't already seen it, go check it out and watch for your OC!!! Anyway, in the last chapter, there was a huge fight concerning.... well everyone and you got your first glimpse at the Mage's dragon (not literally but you know what I mean ;)....

Now, I need you all to vote on something. There are two sets of two earth dragon riders that have been put up for being the heads of the earth department, but I like them all, so I'm letting you decide.

Set 1

Imorei and earth dragon Armemnon

Yahmata and earth dragon Telrious

Set 2

Kaise and earth dragon Ase

Juuri and earth dragon Alien

Tell me which ones you prefer!!! E&R!!! (Enjoy & Review)

EgyptianShadowWolf xXx

Yugi watched the busying day pass by from his favourite high spot.

The air dragons' training arena consisted of a mountain, though not very big, it was the tallest point of the whole dragon training centre. There were tunnels in the mountains that people could walk along, but you had to be careful that you didn't get hit by a passing dragon.

There was one tunnel however that only Yugi knew about, as he had made it himself, and was disguised behind a large boulder. And if anyone had ever found it, no one would really be able to fit through it, as he made it small enough for only him.

Earlier that day, he pushed the boulder to one side crawled through, turned slightly to move it back in place, then crawling the rest of the way to the end. It then led out to a ledge that overlooked everything. At night, when people of domino city put their lights on, it looked beautiful.

Yugi sat there now, head resting on the side of the ledge, gazing over the view, not fully taking in what was going on. His mind was distracted.

He still remembered Sukai being sent off to the dragon healers. And he still remembered what the nurse had said. He cast his mind back to when Sukai had only just been set off...

_Yugi watched with tearful eyes as his beloved dragon was taken away by two older and stronger dragons. He started to run forward. He wanted to see where they were going._

_Hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back._

"_NO!" Yugi had shouted._

"_NO, LET ME GO WITH HER!"_

"_Yugi!" a calm but strict voice had said._

"_Yugi! She's in the care of the dragon healers! She'll be fine! Yugi stop shouting!"_

_Yugi had stopped struggling and looked behind him to see who was holding him back._

_It was an earth dragon rider known as Momo. Yugi knew this dragon rider, as she was one of the younger dragon riders, like him. Her dragon, Daikai, was a year younger than Sukai, and wonderful dark green colour._

_Behind her was Tatsuya with her water dragon Aoi. They both had concerned looks on their faces._

"_She'll be O.K, won't she?" Yugi had asked and both girls had exchanged glances._

"_Best see a nurse about that..." Tatsuya had said._

_When Yugi had done that, he asked the same question._

_The nurse had a solemn look on her face._

"_Well, Sukai is a strong dragon, but I'm not going to lie to you. She is in a bad state. A very bad state.....It's 50:50 whether she'll pull through...."_

_Behind her, her water dragon had recoiled a little, with sympathy in its face...._

Yugi sighed.

_50:50....._

Yugi bit back a fresh flow of tears. This was Ramses fault. This was Yami's fault.

Yugi suddenly got up and crawled as fast as he could out his secret tunnel and through the main tunnels. He ran right out of the Air area and ran toward the earth. He ran through tall pine trees and over boulders. He had to find the dragon responsible.

Soon, he was running by the side of the earth training rings, getting astonished looks from the riders. He ran for a long time. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't care.

Then a shadow cast over him. He glanced up, but lost his footing. He fell on the ground with a cry.

He glanced ahead of him and saw a dragon land. It was as black as ebony.

Ramses.

Yugi stood up, shaking slightly from tiredness. His leg hurt quite bad, as he'd landed on it.

He clenched his fists, as he stared up at the large dragon. Ramses was quite still, gazing at Yugi.

Yugi should have known it from the start. When Yugi had first seen Ramses, he had piercing red eyes.

_Red eyes. The colour of evil...._

"Where's your rider?" Yugi asked in what he hoped was a brave voice.

Ramses growled slightly and turned his head toward the far right, indicating that Yami was quite far off.

"Take me to him. NOW" Yugi demanded. It occurred to Yugi that he wasn't thinking straight. He was asking his opponents dragon to take him somewhere. This dragon could kill him in one move....

Ramses turned and laid on the floor, looking from his back, to Yugi. Yugi took a deep breath.

And climbed aboard.

Ramses suddenly took to the air and flew in the east direction. Yugi could feel Ramses' power flowing through his body. This was a proud dragon.

Ramses seemed to fly for a while. The more astonished looks on rider's faces said it all.

_Yugi's lost it.... Losing his dragon has gotten to him....._

But Sukai wasn't lost. Not yet.....

Ramses turned his head slightly, piercing Yugi's amethyst eyes with his emerald green ones. It took a few moments to click.

Wait? _Green_ eyes? But Ramses' eyes had been red...

Yugi was distracted by Ramses suddenly landing and roaring out a greeting to a shadow in the rock. They were back by the air department, in another rock ledge, only bigger than Yugi's one. Yugi dismounted Ramses and faced the shadow. He knew it was Yami.

And sure enough, Yami revealed himself. He surprisingly had an ashamed look upon his face. Yugi was speechless. The argument he was hoping to have with Yami flew straight out the window. It was obvious now that Ramses' attack had not been planned. And it also seemed that Yami had nothing to do with it.

"Yugi....I'm sorry....I....I had no idea that Ramses would....." Yami trailed off, making half hearted hand actions.

Yugi swallowed painfully as he thought of Sukai.

"How could you?" Yugi demanded.

"How could you even think to hurt anyone's dragons, especially after we took you in!. There is a flippin' war because of you!" Yugi began to shout.

Yami gave a surprised expression. Yugi instantly knew he shouldn't have said about the disagreement between the armies.

"There's a war?" Yami's question pierced through his mind.

"No. Forget I said anything. I should be with Sukai right now. Hope you're proud of yourself" Yugi said, turning round.

"But I didn't plan it!" came the desperate reply.

Yugi turned round again to look at Yami.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't plan it! Ramses started to growl and then he just took off. The weird thing was I couldn't contact him, like his mind was blocked to me. Also, his eyes went red.... it was scary, as his eyes are green...."Yami trailed off again.

Yugi glanced at Ramses. Indeed, his eyes were green.

Yugi began to think.

"Dragons don't randomly just attack. There has to be a reason." Yugi said to himself.

Ramses gently nudged Yugi's back, and Yugi spun round quickly, shocked. Ramses' eyes met his, and he instantly knew that Ramses was not an evil spirit. He was just like any other dragon.

Yugi frowned. There had to be some misunderstanding. Yugi was pretty sure that Ramses had been the one to cause the fight.

"It was almost as if he had another mind, like he was a different dragon..." Yami seemed to say to himself.

Yugi's eyes then widened in realization. He thought back to a lesson that had once been taught in one of his first years in the Syoku Ryu. He tried to remember exactly what the teacher had said.

"_Dragon Manipulation. It's a strong spell. Cast by spirited dragons and their riders, who are mostly physics, they can turn dragons against their allies, even against their own riders. It can happen to any dragon that has a strong mind, it's highly complicated. Once the spell has been cast upon the dragon, the person controlling the spell also controls the dragon, and the dragon will do anything that the spell caster tells it to. Almost as if the dragon has another mind......"_

Yugi ran through this in his mind. It made sense.

"You're dragons mind was taken over...." Yugi said slowly. Yami's face showed mixed emotion, including confusion.

Yugi quickly explained what he knew, and Yami's face turned to horror. Yugi then realized that the whole army thought that Ramses had done it on purpose. He had to make sure that any consequences. Then he thought of Sukai and his heart ached. But there was nothing he could do about that now. She was in good care.

Yugi thought quickly.

"Yami, I need to borrow Ramses, NOW!"

Yami nodded to Yugi and then to Ramses, who immediately turned so Yugi could climb on. Once he was, Ramses leapt over the side of the ledge and spread his wings, souring over the trees below.

"To the ice arena!" he instructed to Ramses, who nodded once and soured sharply to the left. They flew above trees which quickly turned to ice.

Once Ramses had landed, Yugi ran to where he could see Ookami, Hyou and Kibou, all by their dragons, talking amongst themselves. When they saw Yugi, they smiled. Then they saw Ramses and frowned.

Once Yugi reached them, he quickly explained what he thought happened, but to his surprise, all three shook their heads.

"Stop making excuses for him. He injured your dragon, you should be against him, not with him!" Ookami said critically.

"But it wasn't his fault!" Yugi said desperately.

Kibou stooped slightly to his level and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I understand you must be not thinking straight. It's quite hard I know to take in that your dragon is critically injured. Believe me, I've felt that pain. But you don't have to go to extremes to prove that you're not thinking straight. Everyone knows that you must feel terrible Yugi..." Kibou calmly said, staring into his eyes.

Yugi scowled. Great. Now they thought he was mad.

He was just about to protest when another dragon rider ran over. And he seemed in a hurry.

"Quickly, You must.....come with......me!" he cried breathlessly.

Kibou, Ookami and Hyou all looked at each other.

"We'll be back soon Yugi" Hyou said to him, before mounting Bast and flying off, with Ookami and Kibou in pursuit.

As Yugi watched them fly off, his mind began to race.

Just a few moments ago, he would do anything to see Yami and Ramses kicked out. Now, he was fighting to keep them in.....


	8. Chapter 8

**Lol, hiya peeps!! I told you I wouldn't discontinue any of my stories! Or did I say that on Raising Wolf? I dunno, the fact is I won't discontinue them. They are here to stay! And no, I don't have any idea what I'm going on about. Recap: Sukai has been taken into care after Ramses attacked her and the rest of the dragons, and now Yugi is defending Yami after discovering that Ramses was taken over. If you have got no idea what I'm on about, you obviously have not read the previous chapters. GO BACK AND READ THEM IF YOU HAVE NOT!!!! I want to thank all the people that have been reading and reviewing this story since chapter one, and helping this story grow. Right, congrats to the person who owns the first set of dragon earth riders that people were able to vote on the last chapter, they are the new earth heads. Rhavis, I think it was.... can't remember. Enjoy the chap. R&R!**

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

Yugi spotted Sukai in the distance. She was laying beneath the shade of the earth trees, looking absent minded around her.

Yugi was overjoyed. He shouted her name and ran toward her. Surprisingly, Sukai didn't turn around. Yugi didn't care. He was just glad that she was okay. He continued to run toward her.

The sun was warm on his back as he approached her. Sukai turned her head slightly and saw him. Her face seemed to hold no recognition. She looked confusedly at the boy running toward her. She stood up, and confronted him head on.

Yugi stopped a few paces in front of her and looked up at her, smiling.

"Sukai" he breathed.

"I knew you would be okay. You're tough. No one can stop you"

He moved forward another step, but to his surprise, Sukai growled and moved back a step, in sync with him. Yugi was hurt at first, but then he contemplated with himself.

'_She's just confused that's _all' he told himself. _'She's been through a terrible time, and needs to get her bearings back'_

So he brushed it off, thinking it was nothing to worry about. Sukai was still watching him suspiciously.

A movement caught the corner of his eye to the right. He turned his head to see a black and red dragon appear from the trees. It was proud standing, its head lifted high. It had sparkling black scales that shimmered in the sun. Yugi couldn't tell what element it belonged to.

'_Beautiful....'_ Yugi thought, as he looked at this breath taking dragon.

It turned to him and started to growl. Yugi was surprised. What had he done? Had he offended an unknown dragon rule?

The red and black dragon stalked over to Sukai keeping an eye on Yugi. When he was next to Sukai, he raised his head and looked at Sukai. She twisted her head to one side and walked backward a few steps, still growling at Yugi. Almost as if the red and black dragon was the master and Sukai was the servant.

The mysterious dragon looked at him one final time, before taking off and taking off and hovering above Sukai. She glanced at him and then everything seemed to happen slow motion. She lunged at Yugi, snapping and roaring.

Terrified, Yugi ran.

He avoided the ice beams that she shot at him, only managing to stay ahead of Sukai as she continued to run at him. He climbed a large bank made of rock, and huddled into a ledge, terrified and exhausted. He breathed heavily and took a small look round the corner. Sukai was there, casting her head about, trying to find his scent.

A growl brought her head around, and the green dragon emerged from the trees once again. He growled at her once more and with a nod of his head, they both took off, flying in the opposite direction. He watched her go. Although she had attacked him, he didn't want her to go.

He climbed out of the ledge and started running in the direction the two dragons went in. As he was running, the scenery changed. He was now near a cliff face, running along near the edge. He stopped and looked down. He was at a dizzying height. He looked ahead of him to see a very injured black dragon cowering near the edge.

Ramses.

Yami was lying on Ramses back, blood rushing from a giant wound in his stomach. He was on Ramses back, lying face down. He was breathing heavily and looking at the two advancing dragons that kept attacking and driving both him and Ramses near the edge of the cliff face. Ramses wings were torn and covered in blood and Yugi knew that if they fell, Ramses would not be able to fly them to safety.

Yugi looked at the dragons attacking them. His heart dropped. It was Sukai and the mysterious non-element dragon. They were flying forward, attacking Ramses and flying back a distance again, waiting for another attack. They were getting nearer and nearer the edge of the cliff. Yugi tried to shout but he couldn't. His throat had closed up and refused to make a noise.

Yugi then watched in horror as one final attack from Sukai finally threw them off the edge, sending them plummeting down into nothingness.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Yugi tried to scream, but he cut off choking.

Yami and Ramses were dead. All thanks to his dragon.....

Yugi woke sweating. He sat upright in his bed, shivering at his dream. He climbed off his bed and walked to the window, opening it and letting all the cold air get in, cooling himself down. He breathed deep, calming himself, as he noticed he was shaking.

He rubbed the back of his neck. He had had that dream five times now. It was obvious it was a premonition of some type, but he didn't know how it fit in. Sukai was still in the care of the dragon healers. She wasn't going to be better any time soon.

He back down on his bed. He didn't know what to do. Should he tell someone? He thought better of it. People at the moment thought he had gone crazy because he was without a dragon. Yugi thought for a moment. Maybe he was going crazy. Maybe it was true that dragon riders lost their minds when they did not have a dragon?

Would his dragon really kill Ramses? Would she fly off with an unknown dragon that he had never even seen before? Would she? Yugi's head was spinning. There were too many questions, few little answers. He needed a walk. Yugi pulled on some trousers and a shirt and walked out his room. He glanced at the clock in his living room as he put his shoes on. It was 1 AM. God, he was going to feel this later on, when he probably wouldn't be able to stay awake for classes.

He walked out his front door and the fresh air hit him like he had just run into a wall (I run into walls quite a lot..... lol).

He walked through the silenced streets, glancing about every so often to make sure that no one was stalking him, or anything ridiculous.

As he walked, he listened to the sounds of the street that he never normally would pay attention to. A cat screeched in an alley way, and a clash of dustbins sounded. He could hear cars on a nearby road, just a sound that was always in the air. He heard the sound of an ambulance weaving its way through the traffic, trying to get to its destination.

All this, he paid attention to and took note. He breathed in the cool air once again, filling his lungs. A faint swoop flew through the air, and Yugi looked up to see two air dragons gliding through the air, on night patrol. Soon, they were just black silhouettes against the dark blue sky. Yugi sighed.

Yugi sat on a kerb, his head in his hands. He wished for Sukai to be back. He wished that none of this had ever occurred. He wished he would stop having these dreams, that he was a normal dragon rider, that he was once again one of the weaker ones so that he wouldn't ever have to be depended upon, only for him to fail. He wished and wished, knowing that these things would never come true. He never asked for any of this. Not at all.

Yugi lifted his head, his eyes full of tears.

Why him? Why?

A loud crashing sound made him jump. At first he thought it was a cat. But then came a loud growling noise, coming from down a narrow alley way. Yugi got up and walked slowly to where the sound was coming from. He slowly got to the alleyway and peered round the corner. The alley way was too dark to see down, but he could just make out the outline of a dragon. But where was its rider?

At a first fleeting moment, he thought it was Ramses, as he was often seen without Yami. Yugi was still worried about whether Ramses and Yami would get kicked out. He had gone to see the Mage about what had happened, but after he had explained, the Mage still looked unconvinced.

"I'll give him a trial. If he is proven guilty, he will go. Not guilty and he will stay" the Mage had said. And there was no changing his mind. Yugi had sighed and left, all his hopes that the Mage, of anyone, would understand.

Yugi cast his mind back to the present. He was still watching the dragon. But it couldn't have been Ramses. He was slightly bigger than this dragon, and had a bulkier body than this dragon. The shadow turned its head and seemed to see Yugi. It came toward him and as the light of the street lamps hit the dragons face, Yugi gasped.

It was just like the dragon from Yugi's dream! It's features where exactly the same, right down to the black and red scales that covered its body. It's ruby red eyes pierced his. Its throat then gave a growl and it bared its teeth at him, letting out a louder growl. It stepped forward, and Yugi instantly stepped back, in sync with the dragon. He was terrified.

The red and black dragon threw back its head and roared into the night sky, almost as if mocking him. It turned its attention back to him and growled again, before lunging forward and attacking. It caught Yugi's shoulder and the force sent him flying. He managed to get back onto his feet, clutching his injured shoulder. The dragon recoiled, preparing for another attack. It lunged forward again, prepared to take Yugi out, when with whoosh, a black shadow fell upon the red and black dragon, pinning it to the floor.

The surprised dragon let out a cry, only just managing to throw the new rival off. Yugi saw the new dragon pause for a second and Yugi instantly knew who it was.

Ramses.

Ramses and the other dragon wrestled with each other, fighting each other off. Ramses managed to look at Yugi and roar. Yugi didn't need to be Ramses rider to know what that meant.

Run.

Yugi looked gratefully at Ramses before turning and running, only looking back once, watching the two dragons launch attacks at each other, dancing in the early morning sky....


	9. Chapter 9

**Hiya peeps, I'm back. Been a slow week I must admit, but I've managed to write this chapter. You wouldn't believe it, but each chapter takes me at least 2 hours to write, even though I type really fast...... It sucks. Oh, sorry GLA94Xx, I know that's your saying, so I'll use mine. Meh. There, all better. Only one other author knows who the mysterious black and red dragon is. (You know who you are, don't give it away!!! If you have anything to say about the dragon, PM me) Anyway, here's chapter 9, at least I think.... I've got no track on these things..... It should be. R&R.**

**Luv you all**

**EgyptianShadowWolf (Kiwi, Little Wolf or Shadow, take your pick) xXx**

Yugi ran until he no longer heard the roar of the dragons, or, in fact, knew where he was.

He had paid no attention to where he was running, and now he regretted it. He walked down streets with tall houses on either side of the street, no idea where he was.

He knew he couldn't call upon Sukai. She was slowly getting better, but she was still in no position to fly about and train.

He walked down a few more streets before finally realizing that he was utterly and hopelessly lost. There was no chance in hell that he was going to be home anytime soon. He willed for the air dragon riders to come back.

He sat on a kerb, defeated. He was going to have to wait till morning and then ask for directions. He would look like a crazed person just come out a mental home. Yugi thought about the scenario. He was a dragon rider- without a dragon. No one would believe him. Not in the slightest.

Yugi put his hand on his white armband over his blue jacket. The dragon rider world was now divided. The main opposition of the Syoku Ryu was the Ankoku Ryu. It was up to the other armies to decide what side they were on.

So bands were made. White for Team Syoku and Black for Team Ankoku. So far, the armies that were on Team Syoku were the Bara Ryu, Kodai Ryu and the Akebono Ryu. There was going to be a giant fight at the end, Yugi could sense it.

The moon was nearer the east in the sky, so Yugi guessed it was about 3 O' Clock (PLEASE do not say in the review that I got the position wrong, I REALLY do not know at what time the position of the moon is in or anything like that )

Yugi began to notice that it was really quite cold, and he only had a thin jacket on. He hugged himself and shrank back, trying to keep more warm.

He put his head in his arms and his mind reluctantly moved to the two dragons that had been fighting. So this was Ramses' true nature? Protective?

A question Yugi had always wanted to know was why was Ramses away from Yami so much? Yugi thought for a moment, but sighed. He couldn't work it out.

Unexpectedly, anger seeped through him. How should_ he_ know? According to a lot of dragon riders, he was just a kid. A kid who didn't know how to look after a dragon. And now he was supposedly crazy, because he apparently had no dragon. Why were people talking as if Sukai was dead? She wasn't as far as he was concerned.

Yugi had a surge of panic. She wasn't dead was she? Yugi clenched his fists. He had been holding in his emotions for so long now, he had almost forgotten what it was like to let them out. Yugi gritted his teeth till he could bear it no longer.

He shouted as loud as he could, just a long frustrated shout. He shouted until his throat felt sore, before ducking his head back in his arm and sobbing. This was usually the time when he would go to someone for comfort, but there was no one here. He was alone, in this unknown place.

Everything just seemed too much now. Maybe after all, he was going crazy. He decided he didn't care. Not about anything. He didn't even care if he died. It was too much...

Yugi must have fallen asleep on the hard pavement, because the next thing he knew, he was on the back of a large burgundy dragon. The wind blew in his hair and he rubbed his eyes, peering about him. They were high up in the sky, flying above houses and fields. Yugi panicked.

Was he being abducted? He looked at his 'captor', before relaxing. This was no captor, even though he had never before seen this dragon rider. This dragon rider had what looked like a cowboy hat on, and dressed like one too. Only Australian dragon riders dressed like this. Well, from what Yugi could see, he was dressed that way, as the dragon rider had his back to Yugi.

The rider glanced round and saw Yugi awake.

"Ah, rise and shine young 'un" he said, a smile on his face.

Yep, Yugi concluded. Australian. Yugi also noticed that the sun was shining brightly in his face.

"H-How long have I been asleep?" Yugi replied, quickly finding out that his throat still hurt, for which he clutched suddenly and wincing.

"Hey, let me do the talkin'. I honestly don't know. I just found ya crashed out on the floor. Anyway, intros. I'm Kaima, and this is Yasha"

A deep rumble from the dragon told Yugi that Yasha was greeting him. He stroked her scales.

Kaima turned fully around to face Yugi. Yugi looked at Kaima's brown eyes before pausing slightly under them, noticing two arrows shaped scars on both of his cheeks. The marks of a lone rider.

All lone riders bear this mark, to tell other riders they weren't part of an army. They travelled alone or maybe in two's or three's, no more than that. A bit like a lone wolf with out a pack (that was the best example I could think of, but then, everything I think about is based around wolves. Lol ;).

Yugi couldn't help but notice that Kaima also had a white band around his right arm. Team Syoku.

Kaima noticed Yugi looking at it and laughed.

"I am Team Syoku, yes. I just think it's wrong to discriminate a dragon and rider, just because of their type" Kaima shook his head, still smiling.

Yugi smiled back. He felt at ease. Then he realized something. He hadn't seen the white band when he had first woke up, so why did he know that he wasn't being captured?

"Because that's Yasha's ability." Kaima replied to Yugi's unsaid thought.

Yugi widened his eyes in shock.

"How-How did you...." but Yugi was lost for words. He stumbled over a few more words before just giving up to just stare at this remarkable dragon rider.

Kaima laughed harder than before.

"I'll never get tired of that expression..." He said between chuckles.

Once he had pulled himself together, he explained to Yugi.

"There is a certain reason why lone riders are, well, lone. What has the army taught you about us lone riders?" he asked Yugi.

Yugi thought.

"That lone riders were a disgrace to the army, that they have to do something really bad and then they'll be kicked out, not allowed to come back and they are giving the mark of the lone rider, so everyone knows..." Yugi's voice went croaky at the end, and he coughed dryly, before wincing from the pain that shot through his throat.

Kaima rummaged in a bag next to him and tossed a bottle of water to Yugi, before smiling.

"Hm. That's what they all say. Well, that's not the reason."

Yugi took a gulp of water and then looked back at Kaima.

"What do you mean?" Yugi's voice was no longer croaky, but it still hurt. He took another gulp.

"Well, that's the what the armies tell their students. It's mainly so they leave us alone, but it makes the dragon riders scorn us. Like we're nothin'."

He paused before continuing.

"Like I said before, we are lone for a reason. And that reason is because we have powers. Powers that the armies cannot handle, so they throw us out"

He glanced up at Yugi, who was absorbed by this.

"Many a year ago, when dragon riders where rare, there was just two main armies." He glanced at Yugi once again, judging whether to tell Yugi this.

'_Well,'_ he thought.

'_If he is the one that they say he is, he should know....'_

"Syoku and Ankoku"

Yugi's eyes widened once again.

"You mean, they have survived all these years?"

Kaima nodded.

"They're big armies Yugi. They were always gonna survive. Anyway, there were no lone riders. The Ankoku Ryu got greedy for power however, and started a war with the Syoku Ryu. They were mainly after the riders with powers. So, to stop the war, the Syoku Ryu got rid of any dragon riders with powers. The Ankoku Ryu held onto theirs for a few more years, before finally getting rid of them. So we became lone riders"

"So, it still happens now, because they don't want that war to restart?" Yugi asked.

Kaima nodded again.

"Soon, the lone riders began to get, well, lonely. So some teamed up with others, to make the rest of the armies that you know about today."

Yugi now understood about Lone Riders. It was a vicious cycle.

"So what are your powers?" Yugi asked.

"Mine is to read minds, Yasha's is to make your decisions for you and to basically manipulate you." Kaima smiled again, before turning round.

"You've learnt enough young un'. Next stop, the Syoku Ryu."

Yasha steered sharply to the right, dipping downward.

It only took them a few short minutes to get to the Syou Ryu care centre. Where Sukai was being cared for.

Yugi dismounted once they had landed and watched Kaima and Yasha turn around, ready to take flight.

"Wait!" Yugi cried before he took off. He wanted to know a question for a while now. Even though it seemed quite irrelevant right now.

"How do you know my name?" Yugi hadn't remembered telling him.

Kaima laughed.

"We lone riders know everythin'!"

Then Yasha took off, carrying the sounds of Kaima's laughter with her.

He watched until they were well out of sight.

He then turned, took a deep breath and entered the care centre. He was surprised to see the mage standing in front of a large dragon, laying on her front. Sukai.

The mage saw him, but warded him back. It occurred to him that Sukai was looking worse than before. She wasn't even awake.

Two hands seized him by the shoulders and pulled him back. He struggled weakly and cried out, but his throat had started to hurt again.

He turned to see the two earth heads, Imorei and Yahmata dragging him back, their dragons Armemnon and Telrious in the distance. What happened next was a blur, but he found himself standing outside the care centre, with the mage standing in front of him.

He looked up at the mage. They stood in silence for a while before the mage took a deep breath.

"I'm afraid I have very grave news Yugi..."

Yugi's heart stopped..... No.....

"We were looking at the statistics of Sukai's recovery. She was doing well until this afternoon, and she has not awoken since....."

No......

"Yugi, I'm afraid to tell you that..."

Yugi's breathing stopped.

"Sukai won't make it..."

Yugi's world tore apart, in seconds


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry I've been gone for so long!!!!! There are a few reasons as to why:**

**I've had writers block**

**I've been enjoying spring break (I've been out every day since splitting up from school and haven't been able to get to my laptop!!!!)**

**Anyways, I'm back now!!! Thanks to all the people who have followed me on this and added this to their favourites and so on, I still get surprised when I look on my emails and see that yet another person has added this story to their fave stories list!**

**Oh, another thing, if anyone needs a Beta Reader, I'll be happy to help!!!**

**Anyway, I trust that you've all had a good Easter, and will enjoy this chap. See ya laters!!!!**

**R&R**

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

Yugi sat in his room on his bed, his knees drawn to his chest, with his arms folded round them. He had sobbed far into the night, and now his eyes felt dry. Sukai wasn't going to make it.

_Sukai was going to die...._

Yugi looked down at the white dragon pendant that hung round his neck. He had been given it to keep track of Sukai's progress. The dimmer it glowed, the worse she was.

How cruel could fate be? He thought, how cruel could it be to let Sukai get ripped away from him like this. When The Mage had told Yugi, he could no longer think. He could no longer think or feel. All he knew was that his world was ending.

And now, 6 hours later, the reality had hit him like a slap in the face. At first, Yugi had blamed Ramses, as he was the one that had attacked Sukai, but he soon realised that he could not, as Ramses and been under a spell, and he was not in control of himself.

Yugi sighed and collapsed back on his bed. He looked up toward the ceiling and saw pictures of him and Sukai, when they were both in younger happier times. Yugi cast his mind back to when he had first found Sukai's dragon egg.

He was 16, and was in town with some of his friends. He had always dreamed of dragons, and liked to watch the mighty Syoku Ryu dragon Riders fly past overhead, causing a breeze to flow through the streets. Yugi had been walking through some of the back streets when he came across a glistening silver stone, half hidden by some rubbish bins. He went over to it, curious and gently touched its cool surface.

Yugi then remembered at how he had taken the egg home, and kept it in his room, without anyone knowing, and how surprised he was to come home from school one day to find a baby dragon on his bed, attempting to eat his pillow.

Yugi smiled faintly at this memory. His first ever memory of Sukai.

And then he brought his mind to think of the last time he had seen Sukai, lying down, her eyes closed, in pain. His last memory of her.

Yugi bit back a fresh flow of tears. Why did it have to be _his_ dragon?

Everyone else's dragons had turned out fine. Sure, some of the dragons were still a little jumpy, and some growled whenever Ramses came near, and, yeah, Ookami's dragon Sora now refuses to go out into open fields, but at least their dragons are not strapped to a life support machine in a hospital.

Yugi felt like screaming.

He was now a dragon rider without a dragon. He would miss Sukai for the rest of his life. He would be kicked out of the Syoku Ryu.

Yugi felt like giving up. There was no more point. Nothing else to fight for. It was all gone. Before it had barely started.

Two more hours passed and Yugi was still in despair. A knocking then sounded at his window. Yugi ignored it at first, but then it just got irritating. Yugi sighed heavily and went to his curtains and drew them back.

And nearly jumped back two feet.

Ramses head pushed open the Balcony door and gave a Yugi a quizzical look. Yugi then noticed that Yami was jumping up onto his balcony. Ramses was standing on his back feet, his front feet on the balcony railing.

Yami had his calm smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, but Ramses has taken a big liking to you, so he wanted to check on you. We've both heard about Sukai. I'm..." Yami faltered and his smile momentarily went.

"...sorry.."

Yugi sighed again.

"That's the biggest load of rubbish I've ever heard." Yugi said, wrapping his arms round his chest.

"Excuse me?" Yami asked, slightly offended.

"The dragon wanted to see me? It's more like you did" Yugi said, his expression not changing.

"Well, I did, yeah, but Ramses did as well"

Yugi looked at Ramses. He had had enough of dragons for a while. And now it seemed he was being stalked by one. Yugi knew he was being over dramatic, but he couldn't help it. His own dragon was several miles away, lying unconscious, dying, while some people where probably next to her, talking about how they were going to bury her.

He couldn't take much more.

"JUST GET OUT!!" Yugi screamed at them.

Yami and Ramses jumped. They had not been expecting this.

"JUST GET OUT, GO!!!! STOP STALKING ME RAMSES! STOP CHECKING ON ME, STOP PROTECTING ME, STOP HELPING ME, JUST STOP STOP STOP!!!!" Yugi was now shouting at the top of his voice.

Yami looked at Ramses before jumping onto his back and flying off as quick as they could.

Yugi watched them go before collapsing on the floor and started to cry, and eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep....

Iris opened her eyes slowly and blinked several times before lifting her graceful neck and looking about. All seemed quiet, but there seemed to be trouble, she could feel it. She fully stood up and stretched before calling to Kibou silently.

'_Kibou, wake up. We need to go'_

Iris waited patiently until Kibou opened her bedroom window and leaned out, stroking Iris's face.

"What's wrong?" Kibou asked.

'_I don't fully know, but I think it has something to do with Sukai.'_

"Yugi's dragon? But she's...well, you know..." Kibou reminded her.

'_I know, but there is something else as well, like Sukai doesn't want to go...'_

"Like, her spirit, her ghost?"

'_No, because she isn't dead. Not yet, it's strange, I don't fully understand it myself.... I want to go and have a look and to try and understand what is going on'_

Kibou nodded and got dressed. This was the only problem with Spirit dragons. They could sense ghosts and demons and any kind of spirit, human or animal. But they could also help them....

Kibou left her bedroom and out the front door and clambered onto Iris' back. Together they flew through the night sky. They took the long way around, careful not to pass Yugi's house. If Yugi saw them, he might get upset.

Kibou felt the blast of cold air in her face and closed her eyes. She hoped Sukai would be okay.

Kibou then felt a strong surge of anger. An anger toward Ramses.

'_Damn all dark dragons. Damn them to hell..._' Kibou thought angrily. Iris growled at this thought. Iris didn't like dark dragons any more than Kibou did.

"Is this what dark dragons are put on this earth to do?" Kibou asked aloud.

"To kill and destroy innocent dragons and riders like Yugi and Sukai?" she asked again.

'_Like our partners....'_ Iris thought sadly.

Kibou looked down at the passing houses.

"Yes..." Kibou said quietly.

"Like our partners..."

Yugi opened his eyes to find himself laying on the floor still from last night.

He sat up, and realised that he had been laying at an angle as soon as pain shot through his left side. He got up slowly and sat on his bed, trying to remember what happened in the night.

As he relived the events, he was shocked at himself. Did he really do that? Ramses wasn't stalking him, he was protecting him, from the other dragon.

Yugi cradled his head in his hands. His life was going so wrong now. Why?

Yugi got dressed and decided that maybe a walk would clear things up.

Yugi left his house and jogged to the park that was nearby and slowly walked among the trees. It must have been about five in the morning, as the sky was a medium blue, as if the sun was about to rise, but you could clearly see everything.

The park was empty. Good, Yugi thought. He wouldn't be disturbed.

As he walked, he thought about the whole thing again. When Ramses got taken over, when he had attacked, how he had attacked Sukai. But something wasn't right.

Yugi had thought this before but had brushed it off.

Sukai had managed to stay strong the whole fight, but had only fainted right at the end, when the fighting had stopped. Doesn't that mean she collapsed from exhaustion? And if that was so, why was she nearly dying if it was just exhaustion?

There was no other explanation. Between where she fainted, and now, someone somewhere had done something to her, to make her as weak as this. The new found explanation dawned on Yugi and he froze with horror. The world seemed to stop. But what could he do? He was just a dragon rider with no dragon.

Yugi then thought. That was his strength wasn't it? He had a dragon, who was down, but not out. This fresh new determination flowed through Yugi.

He was going to help her get through this.

He reached in his jacket and pulled out the dragon pendant. He then stopped breathing.

How could this be? It was not possible?

The dragon pendant.....

Was no longer glowing....


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys sorry I've not been able to update for a while, I has had LOADS of problems, including that my laptop went to Germany, but when it came back, all the settings had been deleted on it etc. **

**Anyways, I has enough dragon riders now so thanks for all of your OC's! I'll make sure all of your OC's are mentioned at one point and are used in teh battle against teh other armies!**

**OC'S WANTED BUT NOT FOR MY STORY!**

**My good friend is looking for OC's for her brand new wolf story that she is writing. She needs wolf characters, let her know and she'll only be happy to include you!**

**If you are following me on Raising Wolf, then i need OC's aswell for that **

**Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter; I did this during lesson time! **

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

* * *

Yugi stared down at the pendant that lay in his hand. Why had it stopped glowing? Sukai couldn't be.....

But before he had time to think anymore, he heard the faint noise of dragon wings and a faint roar. Yugi turned around to see a light outline of a dragon land in the distance. Yugi hadn't noticed this before, but fog had settled throughout the park, making it harder to see.

"YUGI!" a female voice called.

"YUGI! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Yugi stayed silent. He didn't feel like getting involved with anyone at this moment. He just wanted to be left alone. All his determination and confidence he had had all but melted away.

"YUGI!" the shout was louder. No doubt that whoever was looking for him was getting closer.

"YUGI, WE KNOW YOU'RE HERE, IRIS CAN SENSE YOUR PRESENCE!" Yugi stopped. What was Kibou doing here?

Even so, Yugi stayed quiet. He just couldn't bring himself to open his mouth and shout. He just couldn't...

"THERE you are Yugi!" Yugi spun round to be confronted with Kibou and Iris.

"What do you want?" Yugi mumbled, turning around so he had his back to them both. Kibou looked at Iris.

"We've got a plan. We need you to come with us...."

* * *

Siberia flew down on Yuki and joined the circle of the heads of the dragon elements that surrounded the mage. Everyone remained silent as she joined. The mage turned his attention to her.

"Well?"

Siberia bowed her head in respect.

"I'm sorry mage, but I could not find her or Iris. Iris has blocked other spirit dragons from detecting her, so we just could not...."

The mange waved her off.

"The meeting shall continue" he announced. Once every year, there was a meeting between all the heads, hosted by the mage. It was a highly looked upon meeting, not to be missed by any of the heads.

"As you know, there has been a disagreement within the armies...."

"You could call it a disagreement....." Imorei stated, getting nods from the rest of the heads.

The mage tilted his head to one side slightly and sighed.

"Yes, well. Anyway, I have found that the Kodai Ryu and the Bara Ryu have joined our forces, so luck may be on our sides...." The mage continued.

"What if it's not?" Hikaru asked.

"What if it's all a lie?"

The mage glanced at Hikaru.

"Do you believe in fate?" Hikaru thought before nodding.

"Well, the Syoku Ryu has done nothing wrong. NOTHING! So fate should be on our side...." The mage shouted at the group, looking at the group of riders, trying to get their opinions.

The water dragon Knox roared in reply, before being comforted quickly by Roka.

"Mage, you can't control fate... you can't tell it what to do..." Roka added.

"I know, but we can hope. Hope and pray" The mage replied.

"Hoping isn't good enough. We need to take action!" Ookami shouted, getting fed up with not doing anything.

The Mage nodded.

"What does everyone think we should do to make sure this insanity does not get out of hand?" The mage often referred to the heads to see what their opinions where and how they would handle things. It was the only way to be assured that they would be able to run things when he was gone.....

"I say we have extra training time......" Sakura suggested, with her dragon Yumi nodding in agreement.

"Well, we can't really do that, there are not enough training rings for EVERYONE in the Syoku Ryu to train all at the same time..." Hyou replied, deep in thought.

"What about some people train above the city? Working on reflects and speed?" Tatsuya asked.

"We could.... But what if there was an accident in the city? It would cause more problems than solve them....." Rayne reasoned, trying to see a way around the problem.

"I have an idea! We could each train the dragons and riders within our department, within our element. We could train each dragon and rider individually, helping them with their weakness etc" Shion suggested.

"I think that'll have to be our temporary plan, until we can figure what we can do..." The mage said, looking in the distance.

"You'll be in the fight with us won't you?" Tatsuya said, suddenly worried. The mage peered at her.

"Yes. I will, don't worry... DRAGONS DISMISS!" he announced, indicating to everyone to leave. But before anyone could do anything, a shout rang out.

"WAIT! EVERYBODY STOP!"

Everybody turned to look at Siberia, who had her hands out to the sides, looking up at her dragon. Yuki's eyes had gone a bright blue colour and were glowing, and obviously communicating with Siberia.

Siberia turned around to face everybody else, but confronted the mage.

"We know where Kibou has gone. She's up in the medic area with Yugi... they're gonna try and.... bring Sukai back..." Siberia finished. Everyone looked at each other in dismay.

"Wait... Sukai's DEAD? Why am I the last to know EVERYTHING?" Ookami said, breaking the silence.

The mage shot her a look.

"This is no time for jokes Ookami." Sakura stated.

"Iris could get really hurt if she does not know what she's doing...." Yahmata added.

Siberia jumped onto Yuki, who's eyes had stopped glowing and had returned to normal. With a single flap of her wings, Yuki took to the skies and flew toward the medic area, with the rest of the element heads in tow, including the mage.

* * *

"O.K, so let me get this straight... you're convinced that your dragon can go into this _shadow- realm_ thing and bring back my dragons spirit and place it back into her body, all within a certain time limit? Yugi said, looking uncertainly at Kibou.

Kibou sighed.

"It's the spirit realm, not Shadow realm Yugi! Honestly! It'll be fine!" Kibou gave Yugi a reassuring smile.

They were both stood beside Sukai, in the medic area. They had managed to get in but only because people now refused to go to this part of the medic area, as Sukai's body lay here.

"How will Iris know whether it is Sukai?" Yugi asked.

Kibou glanced at Yugi.

"Every dragon has a different aura about them, because Sukai was good, it should be easy to spot..." Kibou said, looking at Iris and rubbing her head in comfort. Yugi swallowed and looked at Sukai's body.

"How many times have you done this?" Yugi asked Kibou, not looking away from Sukai.

Kibou stopped rubbing Iris's head for a moment and paused.

"This would be the first time!" Kibou said giving Yugi another reassuring smile. This didn't make Yugi feel better.

The next few moments were in silence. Yugi walked over to his dragon and placed a hand on her neck. She felt cold. Yugi snatched his hand away, feeling nothing.

"She's ready" came the soft voice of Kibou. Yugi walked back over to Kibou.

"Will she be ok?" Yugi asked.

"Well, we'll know. We're going with her!" Yugi's heart stopped. WHAT?

"Stay close Yugi, when we are transported, you have to stay close so you don't get lost within the spirit world." Kibou warned.

Before Yugi could say anything, the room began to spin, before disappearing completely. Soon, a white land was visible. Everything in this world was either white, or very light colours. It was peaceful, and Yugi could see light coloured dragons flew through the air, that seemed to be glowing different colours.

This place reminded Yugi of heaven, if there was one.....

"Come on Yugi, remember we don't have long before the opening to the spirit realm closes, trapping us forever.. Sorry, that was kind of dramatic...." Kibou said apologetically.

"No pressure then...." Yugi mumbled.

The trio looked around them for a few moments wondering where to start.

Kibou sensed Iris trying to contact her.

'_I feel her aura. She wasn't ready to go, so she feels angry.... she may not understand what we are trying to do...'_

"Don't worry Iris, we'll find her..." Kibou reassured her.

Kibou helped Yugi onto Iris's back and they flew off, looking around.

"Iris can sense Sukai's aura, we just need to find her!" Kibou didn't tell Yugi about the fact that Sukai might be angry, but she felt he had enough on his plate already.

Yugi wasn't thinking straight. He was now in the spirit realm... where the dead dragons of the past roam.

It seemed like an eternity before Iris finally landed, by a light blue lake, the water sparkling as it swirled. Yugi slowly walked to the edge and peered in the water.

And gasped at what he saw. It wasn't a reflection of him that he saw, but a reflection of Sukai...

Kibu laughed slightly as she too dismounted Iris and walked to the waters edge. Sure enough, her reflection in the water was of Iris, just like his was of Sukai. Kibou smiled.

"Sukai is part of you, Yugi, so this lake reveals part of you Yugi..."

"It's the part that i'm afraid to lose..." Yugi said sadly, walking away from the lake. Kibou put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look across the lake"

"What?"

"Just look across it"

Yugi did as he was told and yet again was surprised by what he saw. There across the lake....

....was Sukai.....


	12. Chapter 12

**Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter, I knew I had to get it done at one point! ****Thanks for all your support and reviews, i love you alls! Soz if this chap isn't as good, I'm writing this in a classroom full of chavs playing their music REALLY loud!**

**WOLVES STILL WANTED FOR 'S AND MY STORIES!**

**Go check them out, story is Two sides to a Crescent Moon and if you're following my other story (what the hell is wrong with you? Lol, only kidding) it's called Raising Wolf. Both wolf stories that involve Yu-Gi-Oh. **

**Enjoy this chap and see you all soon! **

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

* * *

Yugi took a couple of steps forward, his eyes not moving from the dragon that was across the lake.

Kibou turned to the side slightly, listening to Iris's thoughts, before repeating to Yugi.

"Iris says that when Sukai came here, she wasn't hugely welcomed by the other dragons, so she took refuge here, at the lake. To some spirits, she's known as the 'White Dragon of the Lake'"

Yugi shook his head.

"How can this be? She's only been dead a few hours..."

Kibou smiled softly.

"This might not be what you want to hear, but it may have only been a few hours, but that's in the real world. In the spirit world, time travels much faster." Kibou paused and looked at Iris before continuing.

"According to the spirits around us, she's been here many years..."

"YEARS!" shouted a surprised Yugi.

"HOW MANY EXACTLY?"

Kibou paused and listened to Iris once again.

"It's quite hard to tell, there's a lot of spirits speaking to Iris... they're all talking at once.."

Yugi looked out across the lake. He had to get over to her...

Before he even realised what he was doing, he had jumped into the water and began to swim over the lake. He hadn't got far when he was suddenly being lifted out the water.

Kibou pulled him onto Iris and they flew toward Sukai.

"Well, I was hoping to take a more discreet path and not distress anyone, but yeah, let's go the more direct path..." Kibou mumbled sarcastically.

Iris landed a few metres away from Sukai and faced her, ready to defend if Sukai decided to attack.

Yugi very slowly walked up to Sukai and found that her eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping, but her head was up and her tail was swaying slightly, so she had to be awake...

Yugi reached out his hand to touch her scales, but Kibou stopped him.

"DON'T! Never wake a dragon spirit from its slumber! It's a rule us Spirit riders and dragons have to follow!"

Yugi looked from Kibou to Sukai.

"Well, she must be awake, and anyway, I'm not a Spirit dragon rider, I'm a light dragon rider, so i don't have to abide by those rules." Yugi said, pointing out the obvious.

"Please try to respect our rules Yugi, you're forgetting that we could easily be taken out of the spirit world by any of these dragon spirits, it's just by luck that they like the presence of Iris, or we would have been sent back ages ago..." Kibou warned.

"What are we going to do then? I can't go back without her... she's everything to me.. and people will think I'm insane without a dragon... Why _do_ people think you're insane if you're a dragon rider with no dragon?" Yugi questioned.

'_Maybe you should ask yourself that question'_ came what seemed like many voices. Yugi wheeled round to where the sound was coming from.

Sukai...

Her eyes suddenly opened and where clear white in colour. All the dragon spirits had stopped flying around and where looking across the lake and the 'White dragon of the lake'.

"Sukai... was that _you_ that said that..?" Yugi gasped.

'It was indeed child' Sukai replied softly. It sounded like many voices were saying the same thing.

"Kibou...W-What's going on? Why does she sound like that? Why does she sound so... so ancient?" Yugi gasped again, distress taking hold of him.

Kibou sighed.

"She has been here a good many years in the spirit realm... and she sounds the way she does because she speaks on behalf of the dead souls of the spirit lake... they speak through her, as well as voicing her own opinions..."

Yugi turned to face Sukai.

"Do you remember me? Sukai, won't you come back with me?"

Sukai seemed to smile.

'_Of course I remember you, you were my rider, I would never forget you...'_

Her smile faded and she looked to the sky.

'_But about coming back...It's rarely been done... No dragon has ever tried to get out of this world alone...'_

"But you're not alone, you're with us..." Yugi began.

'_That's NOT what I mean! DRAGONS HAVE RARELY BEEN BROGHT BACK TO LIFE!' _The voices that joined Sukai seemed to shout at him, making Yugi jump back.

"What's going on...?" Yugi asked, suddenly scared. He noticed that Kibou and Iris were backing up slightly, away from Sukai, who now had an angry expression on her face and was getting to her feet.

Yugi could suddenly feel Iris's presence in his head. Because this was the spirit world, any live dragon could access his mind.

'_It was obvious that Kibou had been drugged or poisoned, as she didn't die of natural causes. The venom that lives inside her is taking hold, making her angry and merciless...'_

Sukai started to walk toward Yugi but Iris stepped in front of him.

'_Sukai, you know you cannot harm a human if they still exist on earth. Think Sukai, it's not you, it's the badness that killed you, don't let it take over you in the spirit world too...'_

Sukai's expression softened and she looked weakly at Iris.

'_Let the souls of the lake return, they are overpowering you, let them go and return with us... they are jealous that you still have an opportunity to walk the earth once more, while they don't... let them go Sukai...'_

Sukai looked from Iris to Yugi, closed her eyes and bowed her head. Iris then moved out of Yugi's way and nudged him forward.

'_Only you can do it...'_ Iris said quietly.

'_Only you can set her free of this...'_

Yugi walked forward and put his hand on her forehead, when immediately, she started to glow. Soon, smoke that looked like dragons seemed to appear from Sukai, and dive back into the lake.

After a while, Sukai stopped glowing and returned to normal. Sukai raised her head and shook it, as if trying to shake off a bad headache, and then laid her head back on the ground, where Yugi sat down and stroked her.

She looked incredibly weak, which was bad, as she had to have some strength to get back to the living world...

Iris was watching from a distance, when she felt a peculiar feeling. It was like the world was closing in, trying to suffocate her.

To her dismay, it felt like another spirit dragon was getting through, but not to stay... but to take them out...

'_WE HAVE TO HURRY!'_ Iris called to Kibou, who had then felt what Iris had felt.

Iris closed her eyes and tried to contact Yuki, Siberia's dragon, as Iris knew that it was them who were coming through.

'_Yuki, hold on, we are nearly done, we just need to pull Sukai through the opening and we'll be back, everything's fine!'_

Yuki replied immediately.

'_I'm sorry, but I have to pull you through NOW! Mage's and Siberia's orders...'_

'_Even if it meant we will have more of a chance in the war against the other armies?'_ Iris questioned.

'_Yes...' _Yuki replied, just before Iris felt that they were being taken out.

"YUGI GRAB HOLD OF SUKAI!" Kibou shouted to Yugi.

Yugi wrapped his arms around Sukai's neck and held tight. He felt the world seem to be moving fast, like he was travelling back on his dragon, the world a blur...

Yugi loosened his grip, but not by choice. It felt like someone was pulling his arms away from his dragon. He tried to cling tighter.

Soon, everything seemed to slow down and freeze. Yugi felt like he was floating in the air, like a leaf on a breeze. Exhausted, Yugi let go, and fell back, and only just felt the presence of someone holding his head before it hit the floor before he fell unconscious...


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay guys I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, I had to give my laptop back to the school, and that was the thing I wrote my stories on… So, I've had to improvise! **** Anyways, recap: Yugi found Sukai in what is the equivalent of our heaven... or underworld, whichever you prefer... and so, he manages to grab hold of Sukai, but another spirit dragon pulled Iris out of the world, taking Yugi and Kibou with her... I want to actually thank Gaara'sLittleAngel94Xx for beating me senseless because I wasn't updating!**

**Dragon riders are CLOSED! (unless you're desperate) **** Enjoy the chap!**

**EgyptianShadowWolf xXx**

Yugi opened his eyes and saw a dark grey ceiling. Was he conscious? The pounding headache he had told him he was.

Yugi put his hand to his head and sat up slowly, the blood suddenly rushing to his head and limbs made him cry out.

"Yugi! No! Lay down!" called a voice. He looked to his right to see Tatsuya running over, her dragon Aoi gracefully keeping up. Yugi winced. Tatsuya was... earth head? No, that wasn't right...

He looked at Aoi. Water. She was head of water.

By now, she had reached him.

"Yugi, are you O.K? We had to bring you out of there! Doesn't Kibou know that taking a non-spirit dragon rider to the 'other world' is dangerous? Man, I'll never understand her..." Tatsuya muttered, shaking her head.

Yugi sat up more.

"But I was fine. And we brought Sukai back, Look!" Yugi said, pointing next to him. But there was no Sukai next to him.

Yugi looked around. All of the heads were here, including the mage. But no Sukai.

Yugi tried to get up more, wincing in pain some more. Tatsuya sat him back down.

"Sit DOWN Yugi, you're not going to get better when you keep rushing to get up!" She said sternly.

Yugi replayed the last images through his head. He remembered trying to hold on to Sukai, and he remembered floating. He remembered letting go of Sukai...

"I left Sukai... I didn't bring her back..." Yugi looked up at Tatsuya, hoping she would correct him. She didn't. She looked grimly back at him, before she heard her name being called by the Mage.

"Aoi, make sure he doesn't do anything...silly..." Tatsuya instructed her dragon, before walking off.

Yugi glanced at the door. Aoi growled. Yugi sat up fully, and held his head in his hands.

"Well, look who woke up! It's sleeping beauty!" A voice called. Yugi looked up. It was Ookami, with Ayame behind her.

Yugi smiled weakly and let them sit down next to him. Ookami looked at Yugi, with a look of concern.

"Aoi, you're dismissed." Ookami said, without looking away from Yugi's face.

Aoi protested with a growl. Ayame looked at Aoi.

"Now!" Ayame said sternly.

Aoi still refused to move. Sora and Bast suddenly made themselves present. With a stern growl from them, Aoi snorted and walked off to find Tatsuya.

Ayame smiled off after the dragon.

"Aoi's a good dragon really, just a little protective"

Yugi nodded.

"Hey, what's up? You look like you just seen a ghost dragon!" Ookami joked, before getting a dig in the ribs from Ayame.

"O.K, O.K, I deserved that one.." Ookami muttered, rubbing her side.

Yugi sighed.

"I failed. I went to the other world to get my dragon back, but... I didn't..." Yugi tried hard not to cry.

Ookami and Ayame smiled sympathetically, before getting up.

"Well, I suppose you'd better take a closer look!" Ookami said, before she and Ayame walked out the open door.

Yugi frowned and looked over to the gathering of Head dragon riders and dragons, all in a circle.

Sakura finally looked over. She smiled before turning back to the group and whispering.

Yugi could finally now stand up, and so, staggering to his feet, he went ot confront the group.

Before he reached them, the group parted, and revealed a snow white dragon...

SUKAI!

Yugi ran forward and his dragon greeted him. It had seemed like a life time since he had felt her scales, and seen her crystal blue eyes.

Everyone smiled at their reunion. The mage cast an eye over the heads and came to rest on Kibou.

Kibou caught his eye and thought about looking away, but decided not to. She was glad with what she did, and no one was going to change that. She stood up straight and confronted the Mage. Unexpectedly, he smiled.

"I want to thank you Kibou. You've got one of our best dragon riders back" and with a nod, he slipped out the room. Kibou caught a very brief glimpse of his mighty dragon, before they flew off, out of sight.

The night passed quickly, with people mostly celebrating. The funny point was when Roka decided he wanted to sing karaoke. Without the microphone. He was then joined by Shion, Hikaru, Riku, Regaldon, Siberia, who were then joined by everyone else.

But, unbeknownst to them, a dark green dragon looked on with amusement. In the darkness, he looked black, and therefore, unseen by anyone. With a single shake of its head, it rose to its feet and flew away to its rider.

The mage caught a small movement out the corner of his eye. He turned to face what had moved, but saw nothing, it wasn't easy to see in the dark, especially at his age.

His dragon, Orchid, moved slightly and turned to the right, senses working overtime to find out what it was. Orchid was an ancient dragon, with plenty of wisdom, much like the Mage himself.

No one really saw Orchid really, she always slept through the day, and awoke at the night. She thought it was better for everyone else that way.

Orchid right now though, was wide awake, and made her eyes pierce through the darkness, to pinpoint what had moved. The Mage climbed on Orchids back, and they slowly moved toward the place. When nothing seemed to be there, The Mage relaxed, but he relaxed too much.

Suddenly, Orchid whipped round, a growl on her lips, baring her teeth, and taking her attack position.

The Mage was slightly startled.

'_Orchid, what is it?'_

'_Another dragon'_ she bent lower slightly. _'Not from the Syoku Ryu'_

Mage looked up, but still couldn't see anything.

'_Lend me your vision, I can't see through the darkness.'_

Suddenly, The Mage's vision became more accurate, and he could see almost everything. Including a large black male dragon standing a few metres away.

He didn't look too friendly either.

This dragon was just a bit bigger than Orchid, and Orchid was the largest dragon in the Syoku Ryu, by a long shot.

He stood poised for a moment, before lowering himself to the ground and laying down. That's when Mage noticed that this dragon had a rider.

The rider got down off his dragon and moved toward the mage and Orchid, before stopping a few metres away. Mage too, dismounted and walked so he was near the rider.

The mysterious rider laughed.

"Great Mage, of the Syoku Ryu, I hope you don't mind me saying, but... you look a little... frail, on this fine night."

Orchid growled.

The rider shook his head and grinned.

"Fiesty dragon though, shame if anything where to... happen... to her, am I right?" His eyes suddenly shot up to meet the Mage's, a shocking green colour.

The Mage, unnerved, scowled.

"You don't belong to the Syoku Ryu. So what are you doing here?"

The rider smirked.

"So, I'm a guest and you're treating me this way? You're not a very good host, I must admit Mage!" He sneered, glancing at his dragon, who seemed to sneer aswell.

'_MAGE!'_ Orchid called out.

'_I know who he is. I thought he looked familiar. It's Akuma. He's the mage of his own dragon army. The one that's against us...'_ Mage needed to hear no more.

"Akuma, I suggest you leave the Syoku Ryu grounds, now! It would be in your best interest..."

"HA!" The rider spat.

"As if I would..."

His own dragon suddenly stood up, spreading his wings. Upon his wings and back, and along the side of his body, bright red Japanese symbol suddenly showed up. The dragon was a Mage's dragon, capable or many things. But then, so was Orchid.

Orchid too, stood up and showed her green symbols.

The dragons were going to battle it out. This was the first step to the attack.

The Mage drew his sword, the one with the Japanese symbols.

Akuma too, took out his sword, ready for combat.

The Mage swung his sword and tried to cut into Akuma's side, but Akuma was younger, and much faster and easily leapt to the side.

The Mage may not have been as fast or as agile, but he had knowledge on his side, and intended on using it.

Once the Mage finished his swing, he quickly brought the sword up and caught Akuma's arm, drawing blood.

Akuma suddenly realised that he was going to be outmatched when it came to fair and square sword fighting, so when the mage wasn't expecting it, he pucshed into his, using his shoulder as a shield, knocking the mage back, making him lose his breath.

Blow after blow was struck with the swords, and each time one found an opening, they were met with the clang of swords.

The dragons were now in the air, twisting and twirling, raking with their claws, trying to get a good hold on their opponent for the death grip.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, the mage swung his sword, only to be met with Akuma's. Akuma's wound was making him slowly weaker, but the mage, being older, was beginning to tire.

Orchid suddenly grabbed hold of the other dragons neck, and sunk her teeth in, hearing the other dragons cry. Her jaw ached as she tried to bite harder. A sudden pain shot through her stomach, and she let go in agony. She knew the mage had been hurt.

She looked down to see the mage doubled over in pain. He had let his guard down for one moment, and Akuma had managed to slash him across the stomach. Now, she too, had let her guard down, she realised, as the dragon seized her neck.

The dragon made sure to grab her neck near her head, so that he couldn' twist round and fight him off.

He bit down hard, pain coursing through her body. She was weak with teh effort of trying to defeat him. As was the Mage.

As he was doubled over, Akuma pushed him to the floor.

The mage looked up to see Akuma towering above him.

"Your dragon's cry is loud, but yours will louder still"

And with that, he plunged the sword deep into the Mage's heart.

The Mage did not cry out, like expected, the pain was too much to let him do anything. He waited until his last breath came, looking into the sky, tears in his eyes.

Akuma pulled the sword out, and called his dragon, who let go of Orchid. He flew down to pick Akuma up, and flew off into the rising sun. Orchid weakly landed next to the Mage, panting with the effort.

As their blood fell, they looked at each other, just waiting for the end. Orchid weakly closed her eyes and mage lay watching her, as her last breaths formed clouds in the sky.

His vision blurred slightly and he thought he saw dragon shapes in the sky, but never got to find out, as he was met with darkness.

Orchid and the Mage were dead before the dragon riders got to them.


	14. Update!

Hi, i'm really sorry for being inactive, and the fact i haven't updated in what seems like years. I'm sorry! I've been a VERY busy person!

So much has gone on, i just updated the kast chapter, and just never came back on. But, dear people, i need your help.

I have read back on some of the bits i've done, and i'm crying! The writing is so bad, i was a hater of certain things and everything is deemed 'not satisfactory'. So, i need some comments on whether to rewrite the stories, or to continue, though i do want to start again. I will keep the same Characters, and can always add more. Just need your opinions.. Thanks for bearing with me! XD

Hope to hear from you soooon!

EgyptianShadowWolf xxx


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